Li Chen's eyes flickered across the blue interface as he swiped through the glowing icons of his past glory like a bored man scrolling through social media. He paused for a heartbeat at the Deity Slaughter Sword. Its blade pulsed with a terrifying, celestial-grade bloodthirst that made his soul shiver.
"Useless," he muttered, waving it away with a flick of his finger. "With my current cultivation, the moment I swing that thing, it'll suck me dry faster than a vengeful ghost. I'm not dying of exhaustion on my first day."
He bypassed the Nine-Cauldron Galaxy Seal with a scowl, the memory of his 27th-life explosion still making his chest ache. He even ignored the Infinity Storage Ring from his life as a Prince—the one he had stuffed with gold only to watch Mecha-Godzilla melt it into a puddle of useless slag.
Finally, his eyes locked onto the Myriad-Origin Pagoda.
"A seven-attribute spiritual root requires seven times the resources and seven times the cultivation. Even cultivators with dual spiritual roots, if they could afford to cultivate both, would often focus on only one. Dividing resources meant dividing progress—and in this world, slow progress was no different from courting death." Li Chen murmured.
"But the Myriad-Origin Pagoda bends time itself. The first floor grants tenfold acceleration… and at the tenth floor, one year in the outside world will equal a century of cultivation within."
A truly evil, jagged smile split his face—the look of a man who had finally stopped playing by the rules of the Heavens.
"System! I've made my choice! Bind the Myriad-Origin Pagoda to my soul!"
[Ding! Soul-Bond Artifact Selection: Myriad-Origin Pagoda (World-Tree Seed Integration).]
[Binding... 10%... 50%... 100%!]
[Integration Complete!]
[Warning: Host must reach the late stage of Qi Refining to unlock the first floor.]
Li Chen stared at the Myriad-Origin Pagoda icon, a bitter taste in his mouth. In his past lives, he remembered that the pagoda's floors unlocked based on the user's cultivation. It had taken him lifetimes of blood and sweat to reach the tenth floor—and now, the System was telling him he had to start from zero?
"You've got to be kidding me," Li Chen muttered, his face twitching. "If I had known I'd be starting back at the lobby, I would've picked the Infinite Storage Ring! With my luck, I need that mountain of gold just to bribe the Heavens not to drop an asteroid on me the moment I step outside!"
The more he thought about the lost treasure—the spiritual herbs, the divine gold, the artifacts he'd spent a lifetime hoarding—the redder his face became.
"System! I want to file a formal complaint! You're scamming me!"
[Ding!]
[Does the Host wish to file a formal complaint?]
[Yes / No]
"Damn it! What kind of stupid question is that? YES! Yes, I want to file a complaint!" Li Chen roared, his 1% True Dragon aura causing the air to vibrate with his indignation.
[Ding!]
[Host's complaint has been successfully filed.]
[Estimated Response Time: 100 Years. We appreciate your patience.]
Li Chen froze. He blinked once. Twice.
"One hundred years?" his voice cracked, reaching a high-pitched octave of pure disbelief. "A century?! I'll be dead five times over by then! This isn't a support system; this is a bureaucratic nightmare! What a complete waste of time!"
He took several deep, shaky breaths, forcing his heart to stop hammering. He couldn't afford to die from stress before he even stepped onto the cultivation path.
This is just a waste of time. I shouldn't waste any more of my energy on this. If the System wants to play the long game, then I have no reason to reject it. Right now, I am weak. Only by strengthening my body can I survive this hellish world of cultivation."
"System, explain to me how to upgrade my True Dragon Physique."
[System]
[The True Dragon Physique requires resources for Body Tempering. Once Body Tempering is complete, the Host's Dragon Physique will increase in Stage.]
[Note: The higher the Stage, the more resources are required for Body Tempering.]
Li Chen thought to himself that No matter the cost, he would level up his physique. He needed a strong body to deal with the absolute bullshit of this world.
"Hmm... System, what resources do I need for the Body Tempering?"
[System]
[For Host's Body Tempering, the Host is required to use Dragon Essence or a Dragon Core.]
[Dragon Essence is obtained from dragons or beasts with dragon properties and dragon subspecies. The stronger the beast, the more powerful the Essence becomes, which is important for increasing the Host's body level by a massive gap.]
"Then System, how do I obtain Dragon Essence?"
[System]
[Host must slay a dragon beast.]
The words came out cold and unwavering.
Li Chen stood speechless, wondering if he had just heard that right. "System, what did you just say? I think I might be hearing things."
[System]
[Host heard correctly. Host must slay a dragon.]
''System, how the hell do you expect me to slay a dragon?" Li Chen roared, his voice cracking. "The last time I checked, even a newborn dragon is at the Golden Core realm! I am just a loser with no cultivation. How am I supposed to slay a dragon?!"
The mere thought of facing a dragon was enough to terrify him to his core. He had died in thirty different ways, but being turned into dragon dung was not a fate he wanted to repeat.
"System, if I'm actually going to kill a dragon, at least give me a secret technique or an inheritance to increase my chances!"
The System gave no response. The blue interface remained cold and silent as Li Chen's annoyance began to boil over.
"Fine! Keep your secrets!" Li Chen muttered, his disappointment heavy.
"Other people possess systems that make them stronger, but what do I get? I get a System that wants its host to kill a dragon while he's still a mortal with zero cultivation."
He slumped back against the wall, a bitter scowl on his face. But then, a sudden spark of realization flickered in Li Chen's crimson eyes, replacing his despair with a cold, calculating look.
"Wait..." he whispered, his breath catching. "I have the Demon God Bloodline."
He remembered his 22nd life clearly. In that world, bloodline purity was everything, graded into six strict tiers: Lesser Blood, Half Blood, True Blood, Pure Blood, Royal Blood, and the legendary Sacred Blood.
"This bloodline doesn't just give me strength—it grants me an Inheritance Technique," Li Chen realized.
However, there was a catch. To awaken and refine these hidden techniques, he had to increase his Blood Qi. The higher his bloodline purity, the more refined and devastating his techniques would become. In his past lives, he knew only two ways to evolve: devouring rare Ancient Blood-Refining Herbs or, more brutally, devouring other demons of the same lineage.
In the Demon World, strength was the only law. It was a cycle of eat or be eaten.
"In my 22nd life, my bloodline was only at the True Blood rank, yet that alone allowed me to reach the rank of Demon Marshal—just a single step away from being a Demon Lord," he muttered
He looked at his hands.
He noticed that his bloodline had been suppressed to Lesser Blood. If he wished to increase his bloodline purity, he must devour. But in a cultivation world, the ability to devour is mostly associated with demonic cultivators. If he were labeled a demonic cultivator, he would be hunted as an evil devourer and killed.
In a rage, Li Chen shouted, "Aaah! This is driving me crazy! If I want to increase my cultivation, I will have to go out to find resources and hunt. Is there any way to increase my cultivation without having to go out?"
A sudden realization came to mind. In novels, the protagonist's system provides functions and cheats for the protagonist to increase his cultivation.
Li Chen leaned forward, his heart racing with anticipation. "System! What other features do I get? Show me how you work!"
His imagination went wild. He pictured himself with a Lazy Sovereign System, where he could just lie in bed and grow stronger with every breath, or a Sign-In System that gave him divine treasures just for waking up in the morning.
In the next moment, the System's prompt appeared. But this time, the cold, mechanical tone flickered, replaced by a nervous, crackling voice.